The present situation

The Belgrade Higher Public Prosecutor's Office has announced it is directing the police to identify and question all persons who publicly claimed a sound cannon was used against protesters on March 15, 2025 - as well as those who organized medical examinations of those present. The actions are conducted under suspicion of preparing an act against the constitutional order and security of Serbia, and are based on a narrative first put forward in a report by Russia's Federal Security Service. The announcement comes fifteen months after the incident, during which the case remained in pre-investigation status, without charges against those who allegedly deployed the weapon. Military analyst Aleksandar Radić, one of the most prominent commentators on the case, had multiple locations searched by police on June 22; the following day, he was summoned to the Military Police for forensic analysis of his seized computers. Editor-in-chief of srbin.info Dejan Zlatanović and a lawyer Aleksandar Olenik were also summoned for questioning by the police.

The prosecution's actions are running in full coordination with statements by President Vučić, National Assembly Speaker Ana Brnabić, other ruling party officials, and media aligned with the authorities, which have launched special broadcasts and published numerous articles claiming the incident was staged. Brnabić stated that allegations about acoustic weapons were intended to portray President Vučić as a killer and to threaten him and his family.

CRTA.Plus is a structured record of political and institutional developments affecting democracy in Serbia

July

On 1 July 2026, police questioned SRCE party leader and member of Parliament Zdravko Ponoš for about ninety minutes at the request of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, examining whether his March 2025 tweet - accusing President Vučić of using a "sound cannon" against protesters marking the Novi Sad tragedy - constituted causing panic and disorder. Ponoš said he was also asked about contacts with military analyst Aleksandar Radić. He said an official record of the interview reached pro-government broadcaster Informer within minutes of it ending.
June

On 24 June 2026, MP Petrašinović submitted amendments to the Law on Financing of Political Activities to parliamentary procedure. Instead of a genuine public consultation, only public hearings on the draft were scheduled. Prepared with the involvement of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and revised after ODIHR's comments of 11 May 2026, it lowers the limits on donations and campaign spending and, for the first time, regulates third-party campaigns. The text was also sent to ODIHR for an opinion, which has not yet been published.

On 25 June 2026, the National Assembly's Committee for Culture and Information voted to suspend the procedure for nominating a candidate for the ninth member of the REM Council, the seat reserved for nomination by national minority councils. Committee chair Nevena Đurić (SNS) argued that the body should wait until new minority councils are constituted following regular elections expected in late August 2026. The decision withdraws the report listing two candidates from parliamentary procedure. The Committee also called on four Council members who resigned in December over that same seat to resume their functions, on the grounds that the Assembly never verified their resignations.

Key Issues

In numbers

Rotating selection of numerical data drawn from CRTA+ monitoring. Quantitative indicators can often reveal patterns, scale, and change more clearly than narrative descriptions alone, helping to illustrate how political and institutional developments unfold over time. The figures shown here reflect different aspects of CRTA+ monitoring and are updated as new data becomes available.
53/100
Serbia's Freedom House score in Freedom in the World 2025, down from 56
72
segments in Dnevnik 2 featuring Vučić - always with positive or neutral framing
31
minutes - average length of President Vučić's live TV addresses
CRTA.Plus is part of CRTA’s work to document developments related to democracy, the rule of law, and accountability in Serbia.
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